Cody Snavely
Happy Monday, Dodgers fans! The Los Angeles Dodgers have offically wrapped up the 2024 Major League Baseball regular season, taking a crucial series against the San Diego Padres, winning the National League West division, and ending the year with a three-game sweep of the last-place Colorado Rockies.
The Dodgers finished their regular season with a record of 98-64. Saturday’s 13-2 win also clinched the number one seed in the National League and the best record in Major League Baseball, the fourth time they have accomplished that feat in five years.
The Dodgers will now wait five days until the start of game one of the National League Division Series, which will be played by the winners of the Padres vs Braves/Mets/Diamondbacks wild-card round.
However, there is much to discuss from this past weekend, which we will do in the latest Dodgers Notes from DodgersBeat.
Week recap (9/23/2024-9/29/2024)
Padres Recap: The Los Angeles Dodgers kicked off their week on Tuesday with a crucial three-game series with the San Diego Padres, who were only three games back in the National League West standings. However, with only six games left to play, the Dodgers’ magic number to win the division sat at just four games, so if LA took two of three, they would be crowned champions.
It could not have gotten off to a worse start for the Dodgers, as the offense was stagnant despite getting an early run off righty Michael King. The Dodgers down in the 9th inning would have runners on first and second with no one out and veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas up. With Ohtani on deck, Rojas, who failed to drop a bunt in the first pitch, would hit a line drive to Padres’ third baseman Manny Machado, who would get it around the horn for a game-ending triple play.
However, the Dodgers would rebound the next two games thanks to right-handed pitcher Jack Flaherty‘s solid start and a five-inning performance by Walker Buehler.
The Dodgers would take the series and take the division, their eleventh division title in twelve seasons.
- Game One: 2-4, L
- Game Two: 4-3, W
- Game Three: 7-2, W
Rockies Recap: The Dodgers entered Colorado just clinching the National League West, arriving at 3:30 a.m. local time in Denver, but they still had at least two things to play for in the final three games.
The Dodgers’ offense was explosive in the first two games, thanks in part to Shohei Ohtani continuing to put on a show this season and Teoscar Hernández hitting his thirty-third home run this season, a new career high.
Ohtani, who was inching closer to fifty-five home runs, would fall just short, ending his season with fifty-four home runs and fifty-nine stolen bases, both career-highs.
With the sweep, the Dodgers also clinched home-field advantage through the World Series, finishing the 2024 Major League Baseball regular season with ninety-eight wins, the most in baseball this season. They now will have a five-day layoff before kicking off the National League Division Series on Saturday, October 5th.
- Game One: 11-4, W
- Game Two: 13-2, W
- Game Three: 2-1, W
Injury Notes
Entering the season’s final week, the Los Angeles Dodgers suffered another injury at the hands of a wild throw by Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth. In the play, Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman collided with Padres’ first baseman Luis Arráez and the first base bag testing his ankle.
Freeman was down in pain for a decent time before leaving the field with two trainers. He was able to walk on his own power, which is a good first sign, but after the game, when the Dodgers were celebrating their National League West crown, Freeman was spotted on crutches and a walking boot.
Freeman, 35, had never had an ankle injury before but stated that the team had an MRI done, and it showed no damage, but the swelling was massive. The Dodgers, with the first-round bye, would give Freeman eight full days of rest, and according to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, he expects Freeman to be penciled in the National League Division Series game one lineup.
Roberts also suggested that if Freeman is not ready, third baseman Max Muncy would take over the role until Freeman is healthy. Muncy has not played first base primarily since the 2021 season, and utilityman Enrique Hernandez has taken the bulk of the spot starts at first this season.
Another question mark to the Dodgers postseason roster is veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas, who has a tear in his adductor, which forced him to miss the rest of the regular season.
Rojas, however, is still optimistic that he’ll be able to manage the pain and play through the injury in the postseason after getting a cortisone injection. If he is not game-ready, the Dodgers do have multiple internal options, such as Tommy Edman and Chris Taylor.
Veteran outfielder Kevin Kiermaier is dealing with a dislocated middle finger after trying to stretch a single into a double on Saturday’s game against the Colorado Rockies. After the game, Dave Roberts said that the dislocated finger was popped back into place by the training staff and that the outfielder’s status was “day-to-day.”
Because of the injury, the Dodgers recalled center fielder James Outman for the final game of the regular season. Since they opted not to place Kiermaier on the injured list, we should have an update on his roster status later this week.
Brent Honeywell Jr. is also expected to miss some time with a cracked fingernail, but his status on any postseason roster is slim as he was primarily used as a bulk innings eater to save the arms in the bullpen down the stretch.
Veteran left-handed pitcher Clayton Kershaw is set to be weeks away from being activated as his toe injury is not one hundred percent or even close. Kershaw stated that because he’s not able to throw one hundred percent, other small things have popped up in his body as he overcompensates for his toe. The best-case scenario is for Kershaw to help in the National League Championship Series or World Series if the team makes it that far.
Graterol landed on the injured list for the third time this season and the second time in September because of right shoulder inflammation on September 26th. The right-hander has been dealing with the injury since Spring Training, which delayed his season debut until August 6th. According to manager Dave Roberts, Graterol has been managing the issue, but additional testing revealed that something is happening with his shoulder. Roberts did not indicate that his season was over but would need some time to reevaluate.
Two-way superstar and National League Most Valuable Player Award frontrunner Shohei Ohtani is still set to continue his throwing program into October, a change from the Dodgers’ original plan at the beginning of the season.
Ohtani has yet to face hitters, but if all goes well over the next two weeks and the Dodgers move on to the National League Championship Serie, it would not be a surprising sign to see Ohtani make his Dodgers pitching debut despite the front office saying it was a slim possibility.
Tony Gonsolin, who completed his minor league rehab assignment in Triple-A OKC to end the season, will not be on the Dodgers pitching plans for the National League Division Series. However, Roberts said he would travel with the team and continue throwing if the team needed him in the later rounds.
Ohtani finishes off a historic season; short of the Triple Crown
It is hard in the sports world for a player to sign a massive contract in the offseason and exceed those expectations. Shohei Ohtani is that player.
After signing a 10-year $700 million contract over the winter with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the expectations were huge, and so far, he has thrived in his first year in Dodger Blue.
Ohtani ended his first year as a Dodger, setting a career-high in RBIs (130), home runs (54), stolen bases (59), and hit .310/.390/.646 with a 1.036 OPS in one-hundred-fifty-nine games this season and should be in route to his third league Most Valuable Player Award.
In the final few weeks of the season, Ohtani was as clutch as ever, hitting .398/.466/.786 with a 240 wRC+, and in the second half, hitting twenty-five home runs and stole thirty-six bases.
Ohtani, who led the National League in home runs and RBIs, was inching closer to Padres utilityman Luis Arráez for the batting title, having it come down to the final day of the regular season.
Unfortunately, Ohtani would come up just short in the batting race, finishing with the second-best batting average in the National League, and would miss out on the Triple Crown, a feat that has not been accomplished in the National League since 1937.
Now, Ohtani hopes to keep the bat going into October. He makes his postseason debut this Saturday after missing the postseason in his first six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels.
Postseason outlook
The Los Angeles Dodgers have clinched the best record in Major League Baseball this season, meaning they have home-field advantage all the way through the World Series if they make it that far.
Since the Dodgers are the number one seed in the National League, they will host the winner of the fourth seed, the San Diego Padres, and the fifth seed, which is still undecided between the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Today, the Mets and Braves have to play a doubleheader, and depending on the outcomes of those games, the possible matchup of who the Dodgers will face in the National League Divison Series will be determined.
If the Mets and the Braves split, the Diamondbacks will miss the postseason, and the Braves will head to San Diego to face the Padres in a three-game wild-card series.
If either team sweeps the doubleheader, the loser will miss the postseason, and the Diamondbacks will claim the sixth seed.
The National League Division Series will start on Saturday, October 5th, with game times to be determined. This year, Fox will televise all National League postseason games.
Our own Steve Webb has a breakdown of all potential home postseason games and the possible schedule moving forward if the Dodgers go on a deep October run, so plan accordingly.
Here on DodgersBeat and the Bleed Los Podcast YouTube channel, we will have coverage for pre/post-game for each postseason game, so be sure to follow the page and keep an eye out for all the content coming.
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